Dark Begining
by NewfoundFreak
Summary: When a Native American legend comes to life one girl is left all alone in the town. Who will come to her side? How does someone live when no one is there to watch? And most importantly what will become of the greedy vampires?
1. Day One

The day hot and the stands full, the team mounted and entered the arena. Not just one of the horses but all of them acted up, trying to shove through every out to the arena.The girls faught to keep them under control and on task. Sweat dripped. Though, the day was hot, very hot in fact, it was not what was making the horses sweat.

In what had seemed like seconds black clouds swirled above them. One horse in particular grew frantic, bolting for what he knew to be the exit. He skidded to a stop and ran the other way. The sky groaned aloud while bluefire balls rained down. The fire licked at everything it touched. A gate swung open. Horses all over were rearing or running for the only chance they had at life. A brown gelding made sure that his rider stay onboard. He bolted out the gate and ran for dear life. He carried his beloved passenger to a near-by feed store. The fire had oddly not come within a foot from the area. He refused to move despite his rider's, Natalie, desperate pleas to take her back. Tears streamed uncontrolably down her cheeks. She hoped that somehow her friends had also escaped. She didn't even know how the hell the feed store hadn't burnt down like everything else. That curiosity tugged lightly at the back of her mind. She waited while the world she had known burned to a black crisp. She watched as the people ran around stupidly, on fire. Their screams echoed in her head. She tried to dismount, but her horse pinned his ears and wouldn't let her off. She felt like her whole life was crumbling before her eyes.

Hours passed before the fires suddenly died out. It was weird; no water, no fire extinguishers. It just died. The mezmorizing blue flames just smoldered into black ash. All fell silent. Not an animal dared to make a noise. Natalie wasn't sure there were animals to make noises. Slowly she urged her horse, Kodiac, on, and this time unlike the hours before, he obeyed. They walked, the clip-clop of his hooves was the only sound. The ground was split in many places. Like it had opened up to grab Natalie and Kodiac by the feet and drag them to the bowels of hell. She hurried him passed said cracks.

They entered the blackened arena. The stands and the fences barely stood. The bodies. All the bodies lay everywhere. In the stands. The arena and all around. She dismounted and ran to one of the bodies on the arena. The hair was gone from this particular body and the air around it smelled like burning flesh and hair. The stench made Natalie's stomack curl. She pressed a trembling hand over her mouth. Tears fell from her face. She counted the bodies in the arena. All fifteen of the other riders were there. Her friends were part of the team and one of her charrished sisters. She closed her eyes and let her grief consume her for a moment. Everything she had known was gone. Her life, family, friends, all gone before he in a matter of hours.

Natalie mounted back up and wandered on Kodiac. She wanted to go home, but knew it wouldn't be worth it today. She would need a full day to make the trip. Everything around her was charred and useless. She wondered why of places, had the feed store been safe. She remembered the sight. The balls of fire had fallen only a foot from the perimeter. It was the only place besides the local Safeway that was still perfectly intact. Why? What made those stores different from the others? She dismounted and looked up at the large store. The big "R" wasn't lit. She had a feeling it never would again. She led kodiac around the outside to find a way in. At last she found an entrance. They navigated their way passed storage and into the main center.

Sun set arrived and Natalie hunckered down on one of the couches inside the store. Kodiac munched quitely on some hay that Natalie had found in the storage area. She watched him as she ate a sandwhich. The supplies all from which she had taken from the Safeway. Kodiac seemed partially content, standing there. Natalie, lost in her own thought process let hours slip by.

She was pulled from her deep train of thought when her phone rang. She ectracted it from her pocket and realized it was only her alarm, that she had set days earlier. The clock read 10:25. After having wrapped herself in a horse blanket she let the tears run until sleep finally took over her body.

**A/N: This is all I have so far. I know it's boring but I might change it or me and a friend are doing one like this and I might type that one up. I don't know. Tell me what you think of it so far. I'd really like to know and should I keep going or not? **


	2. The Meeting

**Before You Read!! Just to let you all know, I know my last chapter was short and boring, but it was kinda important. My new Carpathian friend will come into play this chapter, so you all get to meet him. He is my own creation; I could not find a Carpathian that was created by Christine Feehan to use. So I'll give this whole thing a try. R&R! Let me know what you think!**

Damian rose from his deep slumber. The area around his chamber was ash. His home had burnt to the ground while he had slept. He looked around, his wolf friends emerged from their temporary dens. They nosed through the piles of charred timber and howled their sympathy for their friend's lost home. He rested their sorrows. There was no need for grief of his home. He had other places to stay. Damian called out to know one but his beloved prince. Once done he walked around the forest. Everything was black and burnt. He scanned; there was no one other than the animals. The village at the bottom of the mountain was empty of all human life. The night was young and Damian desperately needed to feed.

--

Natalie woke in the middle of the night. She was in a cold sweat. Her body was soaked. She looked over at Kodiac. He was still asleep. In the same spot she had tied him in. Nothing out of the ordinary. Yet her stomach churned with uncomfort. She wanted to be rid of the place that she was in. Her skin crawled with something. There was no word to put to the feeling it made. Just the fact that she was itching to get away from whatever was watching her. She looked around the dark store frantically. Trying to find what it was that was makeing her so quesy. When she didn't find it she rested her head back down and curled back into her makeshift sleeping bag.

--

The pain flooded Damian before he could even figure out what it was that had attacked him. He looked around and to his suprise, nothing had attacked him...physically, because the pain still lingured. His head throbbed like it was about to explode. Suddenly it dissappeared. He had no idea what had just happened. He tried to track what had caused the pain through a mental path, but found nothing. It was literally the strangest thing he had ever encountered.

--

No matter what in the world she tried Natalie could not get back to sleep. She heard light footsteps and froze. Something cold touched the exposed part of her arm and she jumped. The blanket fell and a not so little puppy. Natalie smiled and rolled her eyes at her own paranoia. She pet the puppy. It was a borzoi which infact weren't small dogs. They were quite big and it had been Natalie's dream to own one since she had learned about them. Maybe she would have the chance to own one now that this one had found her. She hugged it. Something felt off, yet the puppy's fur was so warm and comforting that she couldn't let go. She felt it's muscles work and heard little popping noises, but ignored them all the same. Seconds later her neck burned. Pain consumed her like none other that she had ever felt. Her whole body felt like one raging fire. Then she was out. Like a light. Her body was limp in his arms. He smiled, step one of his plan finished. Now all he needed was the male and some terrible fiasco and then he would be set.

--

Mikhail called to Damian. The Carpathians were planning on meeting in a very well known cave. Damian told Mikhail there was no need for him to be there.

_I understand your uncomfort Damian but there is great need of your presence. I cannot assess the situation without your help. _Daminan sighed inwardly and reluctantly agreed to be at the meeting. Hours later Damian arrived at the cavern. He was one of the last. He knew nearly none of the Carpathians. He normaly stayed far away from his race or any other, besides the wolves. He like his life of solitude, though he was becoming close to turning, yet unaware of it.

He entered, women and children alike shrunk away from him. The males' eyes held a fire, he had known for many, many centuries. He was old, ancient even, yet not reconized for it because of his solitary nature. He continued on, ignoring the looks he recieved from the others. He stopped when he arrived at a circle, consisting of about six couples. He knew the males, but all of the females were unfamiliar to him. The red-haired one startled him the most. The women of Carpathians generally had long black hair. He shook the though off for the moment being. He walked up behind Mikhail and tapped him on the back. His woman jumped at Damian's sudden presence. She clutched at her chest as if to slow her racing pulse. Mikhail turned and grinned,

"Damian! I glad you showed up!" He shook Damin's hand then introduced him to the couples of the circle. He pointed to the blonds first, "The Savage brothers and their lifemates, Desari and Alexandria." Mikhail went through each of the couples. Damian spoke not word of a hello. He simply nodded his acknowledgement. Once introductions had ended, Mikhail got down to the reason that they were all there. He cleared his throat loudly to get the full attention of the whole cave.

"As you all are aware fire has struck all over. Anything that did not take cover in soil or water is dead. As you can tell this is a delima to our race. The humas have all been wiped out." Damian slowly moved into the very back blanding in with the darkest shadows. Hunger hit his stomach and he knew something had to happen otherwise they would all starve to death. His mind raced with the possibilities of why such a fire had struck and on such a wide scale. He got so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that everyone was talking amongst themselves. Damian searched out Mikhail and asked what it was that they were doing.

"We're trying to figure out just what it is we want to do about our unique situation. Weren't you paying attention?" Damian eyes were flat as he looked at Mikhail. Almost as if he wasn't looking at Mikhail but throuh him. Mikhail raised one brow, "Are you ok?"

Mikhail's question snapped Damian back to the problem at hand. "Yeah." He said. Pain consumed him once more. The firey rage that ate at his insides. His face revealed none of the pain he suffered. "Please excuse me." He walked off before Mikhail could actually reply.

The outside air was cool and crisp. It provided a good escape from the crouded cave. He dragged in deep breaths. The pain didn't go away it continued at a steady rate. Damian finally sat down when he felt that he wouldn't be able to stand any longer.

--

Natalie woke in a basement. It smelled like burnt...everything. There was blood all over the walls. Handsprints of blood, streaks and little messages of help everywhere. Her left hand was chained to the wall. Her eyes grew wide and adraniline pumped into her system. She pulled at her chain. A light chuckle came from behind her. She spun around to see a tall handsome man standing there. He smiled at her,

"How did you sleep?" Natalie just glared at the man, not speaking a word. He smiled,

"Fine. Don't talk to me. You will eventually give in to me." Natalie curled up against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest. The man pulled a pair of keys from his pocket, unchained Natalie and pulled her to her feet. Natalie's legs felt like rubber. She fell into the man because she felt as if her legs wouldn't hold her up. He smiled,

"See that wasn't so hard, now was it?" Natalie raised her hand to hit him, but was too slow and he grabbed it. His grin revealed pearly white teeth. She tried to jerk her hand free, but he didn't let go. Instead he jerked her hand back and ran his tounge over the top of it. Natalie could help but show her disgust. Her nose crinkled up and she back as far away as was possibly able. The man scowled,

"Since you feel that way. You can just come this way." He pulled her roughly along with him. "By the way since you asked my name is Caleb." Caleb drug her through a dark hall an into another room. Caleb pulled her close and when she retracted, he grabbed her by the hair and exposed her neck to him. The mark from his last taste was there. He could see and hear the blood rushing through her veins. It called to him. Beconed him to drink it. Drink it all in. Natalie was shaking uncontrolably. Her eyes were as big as silver dollors.

"Wha-wha-what are you doing?" She stuttered. Caleb kissed the wounded spot,

"Don't worry. Just hold still for me and it will all be over soon." Natalie had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She pulled lightly against him. He growled a warning and puled back, nice and hard. Natalie whimpered at the pain. Caleb sank his insicors deep in the flesh of her neck and drank deeply. Natalie felt the pain, it ran deep. The fire flowed through her veins. Soon it was gone and she passed out again.

**A/N: Ok so that's it for this chapter, sorry it was so short. I will write more next Chap. I promise! Tell me what you think of my handywork. If you don't that's fine. Plus for all you flamers I accept those too! So just put in your review in that itty bitty box down there and write something ridduclous. HUMOR ME PEOPLE!**


	3. Freedom, For the Moment

**Before You Read!! Instead of making a plea for reviews, I have a new idea. I'm going to ask anyone who reads my story to tell me what they would like to see happen next. If I don't get a minimum of four from different people, there will be no new chapter. So I'm gonna give this a go. Read all the way 'til the end, then tell me what you believe should happen in the next chapter. **

Damian looked around. The pain had just disappeared. He could breathe now. Raven wandered out agaisnt the instinct to run from Damian. Worry filled her eyes and she watched him suffer. She walked up to him and gently touched his arm. His head snapped her way. She instantly wanted to leave but shoved down the fear and stood her ground.

"Are you ok?" She asked. He nodded, but said nothing. Her brows furrowed,

"Something is wrong, Damian, what is it?"

"Nothing. I just wanted time to think." Damian looked over at her, "I have to go now." He took off running and shifting at the same time. A giant wolf ran through the forrest. His feet hitting the ground in silent thuds.

Raven watched him go for a moment then went back inside to see Mikhail and discuss what she had just witnessed.

Damian walked along, knowing in the pit of his stomach that something was awful. He had no clue what was wrong, but something was.

--

Natalie woke again in the same smelly dank basement. She wasn't sure if it was day or night. It was just light enough that she could see that the room was empty. Her neck throbbed with pain and she put a hand to it. Something warm and sticky covered her neck. It was too dark to see the color of it, so she licked a little of it off her hand. It was blood. It was running down her back shoulder and...well...everywhere. She felt sick at the thought of blood. She had never been good with that sort of thing. She leaned back against the wall, she wanted out. She wanted her parents, friends, sisters and just everyone. Tears streamed down her face. She just wished that none of this had ever happened. A hand touched her good shoulder. In an instant she knew it was Caleb. She glared at him and held her hand out palm up, showing him the blood, weather he could see it or not.

"You did this to me didn't you?! You asshole! How could you?!" He frowned,

"That's no way to talk to a captor. It could get you hurt."

"I'm already hurt. My neck throbs like a bitch and I'm trapped in this itty bitty place you've holed me up in!"

"I could hurt you worse if you wanted me to." He smiled brightly. She spoke not another word to him. He left and soon returned hours later. "You want out? Fine, go!" He grabbed her up, unchained her and half-dragged her up the stairs to the outside. He threw the doors open above them and tossed her out. "Get out then. But I promise you, you will come crawling back, begging me to take you back."

Natalie scrambled to her feet,

"Who the hell do you thinnk you are?!" She screamed, warm fresh blood trickling down over her shoulder. Caleb smiled back at her,

"I'm Caleb, of course. The vampire of vampires. The one you will wish you were kinder to and pray to that God you believe exists that I won't come kill you."

Natalie glared at him until he slammed the door shut and stalked off into the night. She knew exactaly where she was once she found the road. It took her one and a half hours to arrive at Big R. By that time the sun was just peaking over the horizion. She was tired and had lost way too much blood as she made it into the parking lot. She stumbled through a broken window, not knowing how long she had been held. Kodiac still stood where Natalie had last seen him. He whinnied a greeting. He pawed the ground in impatience. Natalie called to him,

"I know, boy. I'll get you something to eat." She ran around and got Kodiac some grain, hay and a bucket of water. He seemed pleased, and just munched away at the hay infront of him. Natalie was now feeling the brunt of the pain she had suffered hours earlier. She sat down on leaning against the wall covered in bridles. Taking deep breaths she stood up again and slowly made her way to the health aid aisle. She fell to her knees and her world turned into a black abyss.

--

Damian saw the girl. He hadn't been expecting anything. She layed unconsious on the ground of some kind of store. He couldn't tell where she was but he knew her name. Natalie Parker. He had to find out where she was. He wanted to know now. Damian held the picture firmly in his head and sent it to Mikhail. _Do you know her? Can you find out where she is?! Please I need to know._

Mikhail's low chuckle sounded in his head, _Sounds like someone is a little urgent. _There was a small pause before he continued. _No I don't. I'll send it around to see if anyone can find her, though. _

Damian waited around on hand and foot to hear more from Mikhail. He shifted often and clawed at the trees. He was impatient to know. Damian was never impatient. He paced non-stop, jumped around like an idiot and did whatever else he wanted. It was a half hour before Mikhail finally talked to him again. _We found her! One of the women had heard of her in the States. I guess she was on some horse club that won some big award and was on the news. _

_Yeah, yeah, cut the shit and get to it. Where the hell is she?! _

Mikhail chuckled, _Elizabeth, Colorado. _Damian didn't bother to reply, he instantly shifted and hurried in the direction of the States.

**A/N: Shorter than I wanted, but that's a good place to stop I thought. Don't forget the little message I left for you at the top. Please I won't go on without four suggestions. That is all!**


	4. And You Are?

**Ok so my last idea wasn't that big of a hit. Oh well, won't try it again. Anyway I thank thee who took my idea seriously and tried it with me...Mooooovvvving on. I have nothing more to say. ENJOY!**

The sun was rising just as he crossed the Pacific Ocean. He had traveled like a wild man to make it to the Untied States before the sun, but unfortunately he was a little too late. He kept on moving through the early morning sunlight as long as he could possibly make it. He was over what was left of Kentucky when he decided that it was best for him that he stop and rest now. Damian spotted a cave opening and hurried to it before the nice cloud cover could break up. Inside the cave it was nice and cool. He made his way further inside and placed protection up as he went. After scanning and making sure that he would be safe while he rested he opened up a piece of the Earth and settled himself into it. There had been no need to scan the area, but Damian was a habit driven creature and had done it anyway.

--

The second the sun set in the western horizon Damian was awake. He spared no time, molding the Earth away from him so he could come out. Even trough his slight dizziness he walked still. There was no time for creature comforts such as dizziness. The night air was crisp and cool, looking to rain. He shifted into a large black raven and flew off trying to cover as much space as possible.

He reached the little town and swooped down shifting as he did so. He landed on his feet in a crouch. He walked the little town searching for the store in which he had seen Natalie. He searched the first store he saw. Nothing. She was no where. He had searched every inch of the grocery store. He thought back to the image that he had gotten of her. She had been passed out on a floor. He looked at the floor. It was not the same as in the image! He ran from the store and looked around frantically. He spotted the Big R store and sprinted for it. He jumped through the broken window and checked every isle until he saw her. His eyes were attacked by blindingly vibrant colors. It caused pain behind his eyes. He had to stop for fear that he would run her over. Once his eyes had adjusted he kneeled next to her. Her breathing was slow and her pulse weak. She had lost too much blood. There was a gaping wound on her neck and a slow stream of blood ebbed from it. Damian collected some gauze pads and began to apply pressure to her neck. He tied the pad to her neck and gently picked her up. He carried her over to a better spot to take care of her.

After almost two hours, Damin was finished. The sun was high in the sky it had to be somewhere between five to seven in the morning. His body was running sluggishly. He kept pushing himself further he had to make sure she was stable. Her breathing finally picked up after a generous transfusion. He left her reluctantly, his body couldn't take the bombardment of the sun any longer. He put her into a deep sleep before slowly carring himself to look for a dark place inside the store to sleep for the day. He found a gun safe and locked himself inside.

--

The night air was cool and crisp tonight. Caleb smiled. Everything was falling into place. His plan was finally coming to a close. He was so close to winning and was becoming impatient. He wanted her now. He was excited and wanted it to work, fast. He disappeared behind a dark corner.

--

Natalie opened her eyes and looked around. It was dark. Her neck hurt but felt like it was healing. She sat up and looked for Kodiac immediately. He was still standing at the same spot he had been tied at days ago, but now he looked uneasy. She stood up feeling dizzy and held onto the nearest thing for support. Natalie tottered over to him and stroked his nose. He nudged her lightly. She laughed and played in his mane.

"How are you baby?" She spoke softly to him. His eyes grew suddenly wide and pranced on the end of the lead. Natalie spun around and faced a large man. He had dark hair and eyes, incredibly handsome. He seemed to loom over her. She glared at him and turned to try and calm Kodiac. "Easy, easy baby. You're ok. I promise, I wouldn't expose you to anything that would hurt you." The man took a step forward, she spun again and looked at him.

"Back off man!" She exclaimed. He smiled and took a step back. Inside Natalie was so excited to see another human being that she could barely contain herself. Yet Kodiac was acting odd and she trusted him, no matter what. She looked the man up and down. Then reached back to pet the horse. He pulled her to his chest with his large head. She frowned and looked at him. He was pulling back on the lead and taking uneasy steps away from the man. The man looked at her,

"I'm Damain." He reached a hand out to her but Kodiac reached out and bit it. He glowered at the horse, which only made him try to herd Natalie further away and cause him to dance nervously on his toes. She whispered to the horse and gently ran her fingers over his fur. He seemed to visibly relax a little. Damain watched Natalie talk to her horse, he was envious of the beast. He looked away. God he hadn't felt in forever. It was odd to feel jealous of an animal. Hell, it was weird to feel anything. A sudden hunger pain hit him as he watched her check the horse and make her way back around to the side Damain was still standing on. It wasn't little either. He had gone almost a full night without feeding and it was catching up to him.

Natalie eyed the man up and down. He had a look about him. She took a step away from Kodiac. He desperately needed food. Her legs wobbled as she walked; she was so weak, but pressed on. The minute she had gone to far from him Kodiac called to her and pranced impatiently on the lead. He pawed the hard ground and called again. Natalie turned a corner,

"Here I am!" She called to him. His ears pricked her way before letting out a whinny. She smiled and carried up a grain bucket to him, setting it on the ground for him to eat. She pet his neck gently as he ate frantically. She looked over at Damian again. She didn't trust him. His mind was in jumbles. It was a long story, but she had always been able to tell someone's state of mind. Her grandmother could read minds. People thought that she was a lunitac and sent her to away to an asylm. Natalie had gone to visit her everyday the moment she got her license. When her grandmother died of a heart attack she left all her money to Natalie. On a total she inherited nearly 500,000 dollors. Three quarters of that went into a collage fund the rest she used for what she pleased. That's when she had found Kodiac. He was an abused horse on his way to the slaughter house. Natalie's heart broke when she saw him. She offered the owner 2500 for him and used her mind powers to help bring Kodiac back. It was something that bonded the two of them together forever, and the reason she trusted him so highly. So that was her story, now money meant nothing and she was staring at the most gorgeous and crazy man she had ever met.

He was pacing the length back and forth of the carpet. He had a wild look in his eye. Natalie had to get out of there, before the man freaked out. Slowly she began saddling up the horse. Damain looked at her,

"You're not leaving." he said. She put a hand on her hips,

"And you're going to stop me?"

**I was a little all over the place, but I hope you enjoyed! I'll post the next chapter soon! I promise.**


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